Puppy snapping at me when I say No

Hi guys,

I've just joined after reading lots of great information on raising my 9 week old labradoodle. I have never owned a dog before. The problem is that he only really takes notice of my husband. If I tell him NO, (loudly), he jumps forward and barks once at me, sometimes snapping at my hand. The other morning he snapped at my 12 year old daughter's face as she pushed him away from eating the shoe she was putting on. I'm a bit nervous that this is a type of aggression? He is also very mouthy and always biting at my 9 year old. We all yelp loudly when he hurts us (which is always) but he doesn't seem to care.   I think the kids are disappointed that they can't enjoy him. Having said all that he is very welcoming and does seem to love us all. Any help greatly appreciated.    

Thanks Andrea. He has lots of toys and enjoys playing with them. We do ignore him when he bites us hard, we yelp loudly and turn our back to him but he just tugs harder on our trouser legs and has ripped a couple of pairs of my sons PJ's when he pounces. We also put him in another room on his own when he pounces on the kids and draws blood, (my friend who has an Akita puppy commented that my puppies teeth are particularly sharp) There are classes in my area and once he has his last injections, I will try and enroll him.

He must know I've been talking about him because he's been very good today, the children even managed to play on the floor with him. Just back from taking lots of photos in the garden and he's asleep now with his new teddy.

This is just normal puppy behaviour. Let out a loud yelp when he does this and walk away from him or put him another room. He will learn that he gets no attention for this type of behavior.

Hi Guys,

He's still biting but it's not as hard as before. Us yelping does not help, it excites him. Leaving the room does not work either. He really seems to think he is the boss (when the husband is not here). My son is the brunt of most of the nipping and then the barking when he tells him "No bite". He really is a head strong dog and does not like to be told No. I am now getting the 9 yr old to feed him in the hope that he will see him as a higher ranking member of the pack. He tells him sit, stay and then produces the food. When we enter the room, we speak to everyone else in the room before the dog (who is jumping around demandins attention). We also make him wait till last to exit the room, humans first. Lastly after thinking he was great on the lead, I read that I should walk first with him beside or behind me, to let him know that I am boss, started today, boy was he annoyed. I've a sore arm from holding him back. Any other tips on showing him the humands come first? We all love him to bits, just not his behaviour. Of note, my husband's family have had dogs all their lives and even he is a bit worried about the headstong behaviour.

He will be 11 weeks old on Tuesday. He'd had his first injection at the breeders but our vet felt he should have another set as the mothers milk can sometimes affect the effectiveness of the vaccine (1st vaccination at 6 1/2 weeks)so he will now be getting his last injection tomorrow and then can be socialised a bit more and enrolled in classes.

This will be his third set of injections and thankfully he can then be introduced to the world. Maybe when we can go to public places like the park, we can work off some of his huge energy. How long can I walk an 11 week old for, bearing in mind he's a big, energetic puppy?

The rule is 5 mins per month of age per day. So at 11 weeks hes nearly 3 months so thats 15 mins of a walk per day.

Hi guys, time for an update. Can't imagine our family without Hugo now. He's just turned 4 months and is is a big bouncing ball of fun and love. He still mouths us, but he just can't control his excitement. He is great on the lead until we meet people or dogs and then he wants to rush over and play with everyone. My son and the dog get on great now but he continues on occasion to jump up, grab on with his mouth and rips my poor son's coat. The coat use to be red but it now has white polka dots of stuffing falling out all over it. After a long wait, we're starting our Puppy Training Classes on 11th January. Looking forward to it.